The African Development Bank and the Tunisian government have signed loan agreement worth TND 268million ($188 million) for the construction of Medenine-Jdir Highway.Medenine-Jdir Highway will improve access to the south-eastern parts of Tunisia.
The project will create about 2,000 direct jobs during the construction phase and in the medium-term, the project should also facilitate the creation of 30,000 jobs in the tourism sector alone.The new road will offer an alternative route as the existing National Road No. 1 which connects Tunisia to the Libyan border is expected to reach saturation by 2015.
AfDB said the traffic conditions on the strategic road are deteriorating, resulting in increased maintenance costs on the road and operational costs for vehicles, a decline in safety, environmental degradation and increased air pollution.